Quote from: Gregory Sager on Today at 03:42:46 PMBeen there, done that.

A fair number of North Park College alumni were in a tizzy when our alma mater swapped out "College" for "University" thirty years ago. I was not one of them, because there were a couple of very valid reasons that led to the name change, and also because they kept it simple and didn't add an extra geographic qualifier, as some people on the Board of Trustees whom I felt were misguided were speculating that the new name would be "North Park University Chicago" (with a preposition such as "of" or "in" possibly preceding "Chicago" as well).

(I understand that North Central is in a different position, since there already is a school called North Central University, and, even  worse, it's a fellow D3 school. At least, that's my guess as to why the new name includes the word "Naperville".)

Thirty years ago, in an attempt to help some of my fellow NPC alums get used to our school becoming NPU, I told them to hang on to their North Park College sweatshirts and paraphernalia, and to buy up whatever was left of it in the bookstore, because it might be worth some good money someday. Well, I've never checked eBay to see if that's come to pass, but every now and then I'll see a current student walk around campus in a North Park College t-shirt or sweatshirt, and I smile at the thought of a legacy student stealing mom's or dad's old "College" clothing while packing to head off to NPU.

North Central University Naperville does have a satellite campus vibe after recalling that there is a North Central University in MN.

Wait a minute!  I make a good natured joke about the perception of the WIAC, and my post gets deleted? 

Now that's objectionable!!!

How thin can someone's skin possibly be?

Still waiting for the other guys' posts to come in. But, just to keep you in rhythm, here is what I will be posting for my predictions:

UW-Oshkosh at UW-Eau Claire

Oshkosh has played both La Crosse and River Falls tough and lost in heartbreaking fashion. Led by the dynamic Demir Ashiru at QB, the Titans are clearly a dangerous team. They had four kicks blocked last week which essentially cost them the game. If they play a clean game, they will be a tough team for anyone to beat.  Eau Claire broke out to a 4-0 start before being humbled 38-0 by Platteville last week. The Blugolds have been very solid in stopping the run, but they yielded 312 yards passing and 4 touchdowns to Nathan Uselding and the Pioneers last week. This is a measuring stick game for the Blugolds, but Ashiru and the Titans are overdue to break into the WIAC win column.

UW-Oshkosh 38 UW- Eau Claire 21


UW-Stevens Point at UW- La Crosse
The Pointers have lost both conference games so far and have been held to single digits in the process. The Eagles' defense won't be easy for Stevens Point to crack. On the other hand, La Crosse will be coming in hungry for a win after a hard-fought loss to Whitewater last week. Kyle Haas, who has over 1400 yards and nine touchdowns figures to add to his totals in a significant way and La Crosse bounces back.

UW-La Crosse 56  UW-Stevens Point 7


UW-River Falls at UW-Platteville
I have no insight into the River Falls injury situation other than what I read online, but it has been posted that UW-RF could be without two of their starting offensive linemen, workhorse running back Trevor Asher, and their top three quarterbacks. If that is true, winning at Platteville will be a challenge of epic proportions.

Nathan Uselding continues to light things up, completing over 79% of his passes for 1254 yards and 17 touchdowns. River Falls has an excellent defense, but Demir Ashiru did throw for over 400 yards against them last week for Oshkosh. Uselding and Ashiru have very different styles, but if Falls doesn't button down their pass defense, they will be in trouble.

UW-Platteville 28 UW River Falls 17


UW-Whitewater at UW-Stout-Poly
The Warhawks hit the road for the second consecutive week as they travel to Menomonie to take on the 3-2 Blue Devils. Stout split their two WIAC games losing to Platteville 31-27 before taking to the road and bouncing Stevens Point 48-2. Stout is a streaky team, having jumped to a 27-0 lead over Augustana, only to see the Vikings close the gap to 37-34 with 5 minutes left in the game. They also fell behind Platteville 28-7 at halftime, before outscoring the Pioneers 20-3 in the second half to just fall short 31-27.

As usual in the WIAC, the Warhawks will have to play well to win. With the high level the Warhawk defense is playing at and the offense beginning to show flashes, Stout can't afford one of their lapses in this one and expect to secure the upset.

UW-Whitewater 27  UW-Stout-Poly 13

I remember when a particularly stylish Shatil Khoury goal at Holmgren eight or nine years ago was clipped and posted by NPU on what was then called Twitter, and it went viral and got a quarter of a million views. It was quite an ego rush to think that that many people had heard me call a goal (although the number probably reflected some people giving it multiple views; it was a pretty impressive strike by Khoury).

Then two days later I called a women's volleyball match that was watched online by about two dozen people, and that brought me back down to Earth.

Big Saturday in the 'CAC.

Trinity- Midd. I'm sure the parties in Hartford have been sweet this year but even that won't be enough to overcome the Panthers this weekend. 2-0 Midd

Amherst- Colby. This might be the one to finally break Serpone. Mules are due for a breakthrough and Amherst is as bad as their record suggests. Let's just hope Amherst EMT are ready to respond to any antics from the Mammoths. 1-0 Colby.

Williams- Wes. A battle in the little 3. This will be the start of a classic backslide for the EPHS as they enter the most challenging part of their schedule. 8 on Wes is the best player in the conference. With the goals starting to flow; Wes are ready to go on a run. 1-0 Wes.

Bates- Tufts. Bates is awful. Next. 3-0 Natty Champs.

Hamilton- Bowdoin. Tough one to call. Hamilton can't score and has looked horrific in the back at times. However, I don't rate Bowdoin whatsoever and you would assume Hamilton will play its best game with their backs against the wall. Look for the Conts to scrap a result up in the tundra this weekend. 1-0 Hamilton.

Colby- Bowdoin. That being said, Bowdoin is too well coached to not bounce back on Sunday. 2-1 Bowdoin.

Amherst- Bates. The bottom of the Cac is a rock fight. Don't be suprised if this game devolves into something that doesn't resemble soccer at all. They're both so bad I can't pick. 2-2 draw.

Been there, done that.

A fair number of North Park College alumni were in a tizzy when our alma mater swapped out "College" for "University" thirty years ago. I was not one of them, because there were a couple of very valid reasons that led to the name change, and also because they kept it simple and didn't add an extra geographic qualifier, as some people on the Board of Trustees whom I felt were misguided were speculating that the new name would be "North Park University Chicago" (with a preposition such as "of" or "in" possibly preceding "Chicago" as well).

(I understand that North Central is in a different position, since there already is a school called North Central University, and, even  worse, it's a fellow D3 school. At least, that's my guess as to why the new name includes the word "Naperville".)

Thirty years ago, in an attempt to help some of my fellow NPC alums get used to our school becoming NPU, I told them to hang on to their North Park College sweatshirts and paraphernalia, and to buy up whatever was left of it in the bookstore, because it might be worth some good money someday. Well, I've never checked eBay to see if that's come to pass, but every now and then I'll see a current student walk around campus in a North Park College t-shirt or sweatshirt, and I smile at the thought of a legacy student stealing mom's or dad's old "College" clothing while packing to head off to NPU.

Hope the LL squads enjoy their bye week. We get to pay attention to some real bangers this weekend. The D3 folks just love Montclair against Christopher Newport. Montclair lost to friggin Merchant Marine. LOL. CNU by 30. Mediocre Salisbury is still in the ranks and their loss even pulled Rowan into the Top 25. Such a heavyweight. Salisbury gets to show off their prowess against Castleton State this week. They'll move up to Top 15 after that gorgeous win. Same for Rowan. After they beat the Kean beast this week, they'll keep moving up the ranks. Until they play a half decent team. Not sure why stubbornness isn't recognized in the polls. 'Oh, we had Salisbury at 12. They can't drop out so we look bad!' LL gets nothing as usual. Hail to the NJAC! 3 teams in the Top 25. Total joke.

Happy Friday!

Pat, if she can put up with your rendition of The Final Countdown, hold onto her. 

Saw this Substack on Wittenberg and it relates to D3

https://stevedittmore.substack.com/p/is-wittenberg-university-a-cautionary

Hey Bleed & Co and Andrew, where are your picks.
You're messing with my Friday ritual.